cell phones: Microwave News Article Archive (2004 - )

French health officials want cell phone users to be better informed of potential risks and are urging them to take precautionary steps to limit their radiation exposures.

The move comes after an government health and safety agency (ANSES) issued an October 21 advisory warning the public not to carry phones in shirt or trouser pockets.

The French government wants the European Commission to require measurements indicating how much...

“Microwave Emissions from Cell Phones Exceed Safety Limits in Europe and the U.S. When Touching the Body,” IEEE Access, posted April 18, 2019.

“[New] data corroborate our findings that most cell phones will exceed the safety guidelines when held against the body by factors of 1.6–3.7 times for the European/ICNIRP standard or by factors as high as 11 if 1-g SAR values were to be measured as required by the U.S. FCC.” By Om Gandhi. Open access.

“Cell Phone Use and Risk of Thyroid Cancer: A Population-Based Case-Control Study in Connecticut,” Annals of Epidemiology, posted online October 29, 2018.

“A suggestive increased risk associated with long-term and frequent uses were observed for thyroid microcarcinomas, but not larger tumors (>10mm).”

“Mobile Phone Use and The Risk of Headache: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Cross-Sectional Studies,” Scientific Reports, October 3, 2017. 

Chinese group finds statistically significant link. Back in 2001, Pierre Aubineau had a mechanism to explain how cell phone RF could cause headaches. But an industry-friendly colleague silenced him.

“Effects of Cell Phone Use on Semen Parameters: Results from the MARHCS Cohort Ctudy in Chongqing, China,” Environment International, May 2016.

“Our results suggest that certain aspects of cell phone use may negatively affect sperm quality in men by decreasing the semen volume, sperm concentration, or sperm count, thus impairing male fertility.” Click here for more on the growing literature detailing effects on fertility.

In August 2014, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) issued and then rescinded precautionary advice on the use of cell phones. See our story, “CDC Calls for Caution on Cell Phones, Then Gets Cold Feet.”

Today,* Danny Hakim, an investigative reporter at the New York Times, has published a behind-the-scenes look at what was going on at the time, based on more than 500 pages of CDC internal documents, including e-mails, together with follow-up interviews. His story,...

“Exposure to 900 MHz EMFs Activates the MKP-1/ERK Pathway and Causes Blood-Brain Barrier Damage and Cognitive Impairment in Rats,” Brain Research, posted online January 15, 2015.

“[T]his is the first study to demonstarte that 900 MHz EMF affected spatial memory in rats exposed to EMF for 28 days but not in rats exposed to EMFs for 14 days.” … Also “provides evidence that 900 MHz [EMFs] resulted in the disruption of BBB permeability…” From China’s 3rd Military Medical University in Chongqing.

“Are Men Talking Their Reproductive Health Away?” Asian Journal of Andrology, posted online November 18, 2014.

“Until proven otherwise, it is recommended that those with subfertility issues or seeking assisted reproduction minimize their exposure to environmental RF‐EMW radiation to alleviate its potential negative impact on sperm quality.” By Ashok Agarwal and Damayanthi Durairajanayagam of the Cleveland Clinic; open access.

“The Risk of Subjective Symptoms in Mobile Phone Users in Poland —An Epidemiological Study,” International Journal of Occupational Medicine and Environmental Health, posted online April 2014.

“Headaches were reported significantly more often by the people who talked frequently and long in comparison with other users (63.2% of the subjects, p=0.0029), just like the symptoms of fatigue (45%, p=0.013).” Two years ago, members of the same Polish team published a similar study on mobile phone towers, with ambiguous results.